


The Jade Fan

by Steelneko



Category: Mulan - Fandom
Genre: Yuletide, challenge:Yuletide 2008, over 10000 words, recipient:millenniumrex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-19
Updated: 2008-12-19
Packaged: 2017-10-10 14:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/100829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Steelneko/pseuds/Steelneko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You shouldn't mess with a lady with a fan. Some bandits were slow to learn this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Jade Fan

**Author's Note:**

  * For [milleniumrex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/milleniumrex/gifts).



> The iron fan is a real weapon - it was used by both men and women who wanted a deadly weapon to fight with that could also be passed off as just an ordinary accessory to people who didn't look closely enough. I thought it made a nice symbol for Mulan herself. Much thanks goes to Prettyroser, who gave me useful feedback on this while it was a growing WIP, and to Lassarina, who was a fabulous beta reader and helped me structure the fight scene better. Any remaining mistakes in the story are entirely my own.

Fa Mulan was many things. She was a clumsy tomboy, she was the Hero of China, she was a member of the Emperor's council, she was the wife to the new general and a respected soldier in her own right.

She was not, however, a delicate piece of pottery, and she was starting to get tired of her husband's attempts to keep her wrapped up and protected like one.

"Are you okay?" Shang asked, looking over their sitting room once again. "Do you need more pillows? Do you need fewer pillows? Do you want more tea? Is your dress too tight? I'll have them bring you a new one."

Mulan rolled her eyes, already used to this from him. "Shang, I'm _fine_. I'm only pregnant. Just because we're having a baby doesn't mean that I'm suddenly going to turn into porcelain." She leaned forward to stare at him across the low table. "Women have been getting pregnant since the time of the first ancestors, and most of them end up being perfectly fine. Some of them even have more than one kid."

For someone who was entirely focused and disciplined on the battlefield, Shang could be such a nervous wreck when it came to domestic, person-to-person matters. He let out a sigh. "I know, I know," he said. He nervously played with the tea cup in his hand, passing it back and forth. Drops of tea spilled out on the table as he did so. "It's just that this is my first time experiencing this. I'm going to be, well, we're going to be parents, and I just want to make sure that we do everything right. That we have the proper amount of resources and a good plan of attack to deal with whatever will come."

Mulan reached out to steady his hands. Shang looked up from his now only two-thirds full tea cup to stare her in the eye.

"Shang, this is a baby, not a war. We've only known about this for two weeks now, so nothing is going to go wrong in the immediate future." She smiled at him and squeezed his hand. Shang smiled back at her, although some doubts remained in his eyes.

He looked away from her and took a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you," he said. "I--"

Shang was cut off by a knock, before the sliding screen door opened. Wing, one of the kitchen girls their status provided for them, looked nervously between Mulan and Shang before speaking as though wondering if she was interrupting something important.

"My Lord and Lady," she said. "There is a messenger here from the Imperial City. He wishes to speak with both of you."

Mulan noticed that all of Shang's insecurity instantly fell away as he went back into military mode. He set down his tea cup, rose to his feet, and walked over to offer Mulan a hand up from her kneeling position next to the table. She took his hand and pulled herself up to her feet. Wing nodded, and motioned for both of them to follow her to the front of the house.

Two men and a pair of strong black horses were waiting for them outside the gate. One man stood further back and held on to a standard displaying the Emperor's crest. The other, wearing armour that identified him as a captain in the imperial army, stood closer to the house. When he saw Mulan and Shang, he took off his helmet and gave them a respectful bow. They bowed back and waited for him to speak.

"General Li Shang, Honourable Councillor Fa Mulan," he said, stowing his helmet in the crook of his arm. "My name is Zhou Shiji. I hate to disturb your well deserved rest from your duties, but I bring you summons from the Imperial City. The Emperor himself would like to speak with you."

"About what?" asked Mulan. "Did he say why he wanted to see us?"

Captain Zhou shook his head. "I do not know, my lady. All I know is that it is urgent, and that we were asked to escort you to the palace. I would guess that it is something of importance based on the secrecy and the need to see both of you in person."

Shang and Mulan exchanged a quick look and both nodded at each other. "We will be happy to obey the Emperor's request. Please allow us a little time to prepare for the journey," Shang said.

Captain Zhou nodded. "Of course, my lord."

Wing was still standing just inside the doors of the front hall, so Mulan beckoned her over. "Wing, would you give these men some tea while Shang and I get ready? They're probably tired from the long trip here."

"Of course," Wing said. She motioned the men to a door around the side. "If you sirs will follow me, I'll show you the stable for your horses."

"Thank you," said Captain Zhou. He put his helmet back on and grabbed both sets of reins. The group disappeared around the side of the main house building. Mulan watched them for a moment before she and Shang turned to head for their private rooms.

She grabbed a large saddle bag and started packing all the things she'd need for several days away from home. "What do you think all that's about?" she asked.

"I don't know," Shang said. "If I had to guess, I'd suspect that the Emperor has some task for us that he doesn't want anyone else to know about. He rarely has audiences with anyone these days, and it says a lot that he wants to tell us himself instead of just sending a sealed letter."

Mulan nodded. "I don't think he'd call us back to court if it wasn't something big." She carefully folded a nice woven dress and put it in the bag. "Of course, last time he sent us on a mission, as escorts for his three daughters, that didn't exactly turn out according to plan."

Shang paused in packing a set of clothing to raise an eyebrow at her. "And whose fault is that?

"Mushu's mostly," Mulan said, going over the same conversation they'd had many times before. "At least you showed up before I ended up married to the prince of Qui Gong for good." She leaned over to lay her head on Shang's shoulder. "And I'm glad you did."

He let her keep it there for a moment before she sat up again and started changing clothes. Mulan took off her green and gold layered dress and set it aside. She put on the same kind of dark coloured tunic and pants she had worn as an army recruit. Shang removed his fine embroidered robe and put on simple military garb and his armour. Mulan considered bringing along the pendant the Emperor had given her, but decided to leave it behind. She cherished it too much to chance losing it.

Both of them shouldered their now fully packed travel bags and headed to the sitting room.

Wing had done a good job of making the guests feel comfortable. Both Captain Zhou and the standard-bearer had been settled, and both a hot pot of tea and a plate full of sweets had been laid out on the low table. On seeing them, Captain Zhou put down his cup of tea and respectfully got to his feet. He gave Mulan's outfit a second glance, but otherwise said nothing. A hero who had saved China from an invading Hun army twice in a span of days and received pubic thanks from the Emperor himself was allowed to wear whatever she liked.

Captain Zhou bowed to the couple again. "We thank you deeply for the hospitality you have shown us. Are you ready to go the Imperial City now?"

Mulan nodded at the question. "We are."

The visiting soldiers left their empty cups on the table for Wing to take care of, and all of them headed to the stables. The visiting horses had been given food and water and were happily munching away. Shang's mount, a dappled white war horse, waited patiently next to Khan. The Fa family had included Khan with Mulan's wedding gifts, and she was glad to keep her old friend. She untied the four horses, and each rider took their respective mount. They saddled up, and started down the road from the Li family villa to the main road which would lead to the Imperial City.

The ride to the Imperial City was an uneventful few days. The roads were wide and well paved, and the sight of the Emperor's standard caused people to move out of the way and let them pass.

Soon the simple country buildings began to give way to more elaborate houses which finally gave way to the heavy stone walls of the Imperial Palace. They dismounted outside the main walls, and passed the horses' reins to a pair of stable boys who came running up. The standard-bearer stayed outside, and Captain Zhou led Mulan and Shang to the entrance to the great hall. A few words with the guards, and they were allowed to pass into the twisting hallways that led to the Emperor's receiving room.

Word of their arrival must have already spread through the palace because the Emperor was waiting for them there. The old man sat in a plush chair, dressed in golden robes skilfully embroidered with dragons and his personal crest. Mulan, Shang, and Captain Zhou all bowed low before him. The Emperor rose to his feet.

"Thank you for bringing them to me, Captain Zhou," the Emperor said. "You may return to your duties now."

"Yes, your majesty," Captain Zhou said. He bowed respectfully again and then left the room, closing the door behind him.

The Emperor walked over to a table in the middle of the room that held a map of all of China. "I'm sure you must be wondering why I summoned you here," he said. "I'm afraid I need your help once again."

"Another escort mission?" Mulan asked.

The Emperor shook his head. "No, I'm afraid it's much more dangerous than that."

He pointed to one of the western regions on the map. "A powerful bandit lord has appeared in the western lands. His name is Yan Lushan, but he calls himself Lang."

" 'The Wolf' ", Shang said.

The Emperor nodded. "Just so. Lang's greed knows no bounds. He began by attacking travelers and trade caravans, but this was not enough for him. Recently, he has begun attacking whole villages, stealing everything of value and burning them to the ground. He does not care how many people he slaughters, so long as there is treasure involved."

"So why do you need us? Why not send the troops already in that area?" Shang asked.

"Lang is a very strong fighter," the Emperor said. "He has killed every man that has stood against him, soldier and peasant alike. He is merciless, and will attack any man who he thinks might try to fight him." The Emperor focused his gaze on Mulan. "But he thinks that women are worthless. I am told that he has kidnapped many beautiful girls for his own use, but otherwise he will not give them a second thought. So, the only warrior who could get close enough to Lang to catch him off guard..."

"...would be a woman," Mulan finished.

The Emperor nodded again. "Fa Mulan," he said, drawing himself up to his full stature, "will you help save my people from this bandit lord?"

"Your majesty, it would be an honour to help protect China," she said.

The Emperor shifted his gaze to Shang. "General Li, I will need you to help Fa Mulan. As resourceful a fighter as she has proven to be, I still doubt that one person alone can defeat Lang. I need the both of you to work together to defeat him. If possible, I want you to bring him back alive to stand trial for his many crimes against the people of China."

He let the other possibility remain unspoken.

"If you need anything for this mission, just ask my servants, and it will be given to you. I only ask in return that you keep the details of this plan a secret. The palace has many leaks, and Lang must not discover how we intend to defeat him." He traced his hands over the western lands again. "We only have this one chance to stop him while he is still small enough to defeat on his own. Take every precaution you need."

Shang and Mulan bowed respectfully to the Emperor. "We will, your majesty," Shang said.

The Emperor's mood softened into a more fatherly gaze. "And I heard about your marriage to each other last year. Congratulations. May the Heavens smile upon the both of you."

Mulan resisted the urge to break into a grin. "Thank you, your majesty."

The Emperor returned to studying his map. "You may go now. You may also ask Captain Zhou to take you to the royal storehouse if there's anything you need to prepare yourself for this mission." He raised his head enough to give them a small wink. "Consider it my wedding gift to you."

Both Mulan and Shang were overwhelmed by the Emperor's generosity. "Thank you, your majesty," Shang said in an awed voice. "If you'll excuse us."

They bowed reverently, and the Emperor dismissed them with a wave of his hand. He returned to measuring the distance between the western lands and the Imperial City.

A pair of guards were waiting outside the Emperor's door, and they let Shang and Mulan exit freely. The guards led the two back to the main palace hallways and towards another building where Mulan and Shang stayed when on business in the Imperial City.

"I can't believe the Emperor is letting us take whatever we want from the royal storehouse," Shang said, amazement in his voice.

"We're so lucky to even be allowed in there," Mulan replied. "I hope we're able to deal with this mission he gave us."

Shang straightened the hem of his tunic as he walked. "Me too. We have a long ride ahead of us to get to that far west." He looked over at Mulan. "Are you sure you want to do this? You don't want to ask the Emperor if someone else can take your place and you can rest in your delicate condition?"

Mulan let out a sigh of frustration. "I already told you, I'm **fine**, Shang. I don't think it'll take us that many months to deal with all this. And besides, because of the army's rule forbidding women from joining under penalty of death, I'm the only one with the right training and _build_ to be able to do this." She bumped his arm. "If you don't think I have enough skill to handle this, you should take it up with the commanding officer who taught me how to fight."

He stopped protesting with that, even though he still looked like he had something to say. They arrived at their room in the west building. After a long journey and an audience with the Emperor, they did little more than lie down and sleep until morning came.

The next morning, they ate and dressed themselves for the day, before asking for Captain Zhou. He showed up at their rooms, dressed in clean armour.

"Are you ready to see the royal storehouse?" he said.

"Yes," answered Mulan. "Lead the way."

The royal storehouse was a separate building within the palace built with heavy stone walls to protect it from the outside elements and a pair of guards outside the large main door to protect it from people. Captain Zhou led them to the front door. The guards moved to the side to let the three of them enter the building.

Mulan gaped at the sight of it. Inside, the building was filled with every kind of treasure imaginable - weapons, carriages, fine clothing, little pieces of jewellery, ink paintings and calligraphy scrolls, walls of books likely containing the full history of China, all the way back to the great Yellow Emperor.

Shang headed straight for the weapons. He picked up a number of swords, testing them for weight and balance before trying out the bows. Mulan hesitated in front of a table full of fine jewellery and accessories. A name carved into one of the ornate combs told her that these had once belonged to Lady Wen, a great-aunt of the current emperor.

She tried a couple of the combs in her hair before her hand strayed on a simple looking folding fan. The outer spoke coverings were made of flat jade, carved into the shape of a phoenix with a long pointed tail. A string attached to the bottom of the fan held a jade ring and a faded white tassel. All the jade carvings had seen some damage; bits of the phoenix had chipped off, and it all had a worn and stained look to it. She picked up the fan and unfolded it. The cloth spread out to reveal a painting of mountains in the mist. Dark specs here and there marred the picture.

The fan felt heavy in her hand. Mulan tapped the cloth panels and was surprised to hear a metal ting from the spoke beneath. She touched the top of the phoenix's tail and felt something cold and hard underneath.

She looked more closely at it. A thick iron rod had been hidden inside the jade, so well that it would be unnoticeable to any casual observer. All the spokes on the fan appeared to all be made of iron as well. She tested the top of the fan's panels, and found the same metal hidden inside.

"It's a tie shan, an iron fighting fan," she said to herself as she refolded it and unfolded it again. "I never would have guessed."

Mulan refolded the fan and held it tightly in her hand. The jade was worn, true, but just enough for her to keep a good grip on it without hurting her hand on the phoenix shape.

She decided to keep it as one of her storehouse items. She picked out a couple more of Lady Wen's shaped jade combs and headed back to see Shang. He had decided in a plain sword with the image of a dragon's head carved into the pommel and a matching scabbard. The clerk in charge of the royal storehouse made a note of what they took, and Captain Zhou ushered them back outside.

Shang looked over Mulan's choices. "A fan? That seems more feminine that usual for you."

In response, she flicked the fan open with her wrist and taped one of the iron spokes. A knowing look spread across his face. "You'd be surprised how much damage something pretty can do," Mulan said wryly.

"One again, you manage to impress me, `Fa Ping' ", Shang said.

"Just trying to keep up with you, `Captain Shang'," Mulan replied. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Shang reddened, coughed, and looked away.

"So," he said, regaining his composure," I think we should leave after the sun sets. It would be better if not too many people see us leave for the west, carrying weapons with us."

Mulan tucked her new fan and combs inside the sash of her dress. "That means we'll have to get ready in private this afternoon so that no one sees us go. Do you know where we're headed?"

Shang nodded. "My father once had to stop a group of raiders there who were attacking trade caravans. Even if we don't know where Lang's hideout is, I have a general idea of where in the province we might be able to find him." There was a small note of grief in his voice at the mention of his father. Mulan could tell that Shang still grieved for him even now.

It took them the whole afternoon and into the evening to get ready. They dressed in matching military uniforms to appear to be only a pair of lower ranked soldiers out for a night patrol. Mulan's pregnancy wasn't too far along that she couldn't still hide her figure in the boys' clothing, although she was much more careful about binding herself up this time than she had been in the past.

Night finally fell and they saddled up their horses again. The soldier on sentry duty at the main gate of the Imperial City saluted and let them pass through.

They rode down the main road leading to the western part of the empire and only stopped when sunlight started appearing over the mountains at their backs. They camped and slept through the whole morning. They woke and set off in the afternoon, and slowly adjusted their schedule to regular daylight hours as the days passed. The ride was long, but pleasant, as fair late spring weather held steady.

After a week and a half of riding, they entered the western lands. The mountains here were high and steep, with deep valleys leading through them. This far away from the Imperial City, the villages were smaller and the people a little rougher. There was more mixing here, as Chinese people lived side-by-side with nomads from the desert to the north, finely dressed monks from across the tall mountains to the south-west, and even a few merchants who had come from the other end of the great trade route leading to the far west.

They finally stopped in a town at the edge of the region where Lang had been spotted, and bought a room for the night. Mulan pilled her bags in a corner and sprawled out on the bedding.

"I don't even want to look at a horse for a while," she said. "I'm so sore and stiff from all that travelling."

Shang sat back against the wall and smirked at her. "Good thing you didn't decide to stay in the army full time then. If you're not doing long treks on horseback, you're doing long treks on foot."

"Ugh, tell me about it," she said. "But at least we got here alright." She pulled herself up into a sitting position. "And now we start to deal with Lang himself."

Shang crossed his arms. "He'll be hard to find. No one seems to know where his hideout is or how to find it."

"Well, except Lang and his men," Mulan said, "but it's not like they'd just show up and tell us where they're hiding and how well armed they are."

"It might even be difficult to know who was working for Lang, since many bandits still look like former peasants."

One of Lady Wen's combs was poking out of Mulan's bag. She slid it out and turned it over in her hand. "What if we manage to bait them into coming out of hiding?" she said.

"How so?" Shang asked.

"Well..." She gathered her thoughts together. "We'll never know who's a bandit and who's a regular person unless they're attacking you, right? So what if we acted as bait to draw one or two out?"

Shang frowned. "That sounds dangerous."

"Probably is," Mulan admitted, "but I don't know that there's another way to get information about Lang."

He sat in silence for a minute considering. "Alright. We arm ourselves, make sure we look like non-threatening targets, and try and get one or two of Lang's men to follow us. I dislike sneaking around, but we're not in a position to just storm his camp." He paused. "I just worry about how many things could go wrong."

Mulan reached over to take his hand. "At least it'll be better if we work together."

He looked up to her stare her in the eyes. "If anything happens to you, I will never forgive myself. Understand that."

Mulan nodded back at his statement. "I know."

The next morning, Mulan started to put her plan into action. She pulled out her bags, and unpacked all the very feminine clothing she had put in in the palace. She washed her hair in water infused with a mixture of jasmine and magnolia petals, and pinned it up on top of her head. She stuck in Lady Wen's fine hair combs to keep it all in place. She wrapped herself in a long dress made from layers of the finest sky blue silk. She wrapped a sash of silver silk around her waist a few times, and tied it up in the back to keep the outfit together. She unwrapped the jade fan from the cloth she had used to protect it and tucked it inside her sash so that the tassel and the jade ring were the only things visible. She finished by painting her lips and making sure that everything was in place.

Mulan stared at her own reflection in the hand mirror, unsure of the pretty but uncomfortable young woman who stared back at her.

"I feel like I'm going to see the matchmaker again," she muttered aloud. "I hope this turns out better than last time."

"You went to see a matchmaker?" Shang asked from the other side of the room. Most of the tension from last night had gone, but Mulan could still feel the concern in him. "You never told me about that."

Mulan turned around to look at Shang. He drew in a breath. Mulan seldom went to all the bother of dressing herself up as a fine young courtly lady since it made her feel so awkward. Shang rarely got to see her like this. It was quite a difference from the boy he had first met in the training camp.

"I went to make my parents happy by trying to be a good daughter," he said. "As you can probably guess by me ending up with you instead of some local guy, it went really badly."

Shang smirked. "I wish I could have been there to see that."

Mulan threw a shoe at him.

She raised herself to her feet and packed her boyish clothes away in her saddle bag. She let out a deep breath, and tried to mentally prepare herself for what they needed to do. She offered her hand to Shang. "Better get this started, I guess."

He grabbed both their bags, and took her hand to lead her out of the room. He'd put on very simple peasant garb, and only his disciplined stance might have given him away as a high ranking soldier.

Shang led her down to the stables and saddled up both horses while Mulan watched. When all the gear had been packed, he helped Mulan to seat herself side-saddle on top of Khan. She felt weird about letting him do things for her that she could do just fine herself, but she tried to ignore the feeling. Shang mounted his own horse, and led them out to the main road.

The people in the village stared at Mulan as they passed. She felt her cheeks flush, and willed herself to stay calm and composed. She hated being stared at like this.

Out of the side of her vision, she caught sight of a couple of rough looking men who watched her go by, and the disappeared down a narrow side street. With any luck, those would be Lang's men, intrigued by the news of a rich noblewoman.

The townspeople kept staring at them even after they had left the village, and until Shang and Mulan had disappeared around a hill. Mulan let out a sigh of relief at being away from the crowds, and relaxed a little on the horse.

"And now, we just have to hope that Lang's men find us. I don't want to stay dressed up like this for days and days," she said.

Shang didn't reply right away. He led the horses up the start of an uphill path through the mountains. "I just hope everything goes well," he said at last.

They mostly rode in silence, despite the occasional bought of chitchat. The hills grew taller until the finally entered a deep valley with steep, rock-covered mountains on either side. There were few trees to be seen anywhere. Mulan could hear the sound of small stones rolling down the hill every now and then.

"We're being watched," Shang suddenly said in a quiet voice. "Be on your guard, but try to pretend that nothing is wrong."

There was a curve in the path ahead. As they went around it, they found a group of men with swords. Mulan let out a gasp. Shang tried to wheel the horses around but another pair of armed men had blocked the way behind them. Others appeared from behind the boulders around the path and closed in a circle around them. They were trapped.

One man stepped out from the group. He was tall and lean, but still very strong looking. Old scars covered his face. He had shaved the sides of his head, and pulled the rest back in a long, shaggy ponytail. His clothes were plain enough to blend into the rocks from a distance, but his fingers were covered with many bejewelled rings, and several golden hoops hung from his ears. He gave them a wicked grin, and Mulan could almost swear that his teeth were pointed.

This, then, had to be Lang the bandit lord himself.

They pulled the horses around and Shang dismounted and pulled out his dragon head sword. Lang's men rushed at him in a mob and knocked him to the ground before he could get a good grip on it. The sword went spinning from his hand. He reached for it, but a man with hard leather boots kicked it out of his reach and snapped it up. Mulan dismounted, but barely had time to reach for her own weapons before a man grabbed her from behind. She struggled in his grip, but he pressed his hand tight against her nose and mouth, and she found it hard to breathe.

Shang tried to shake them off. One of the bandits grabbed a large rock and smashed it into Shang's head. Without a helmet for protection, he passed out cold. The bandits laughed, and left him sprawled out in the middle of the path.

A man with a dagger in his teeth bound Mulan's wrists and ankles together tightly. She glared at him but he ignored it. Lang himself swaggered over to her. He grabbed Mulan's chin at started at her face.

"Huh," Lang finally said. "Plain, but rich looking. You'd need more paint to try and pass yourself off as beautiful. Still..." His eyes lingered on her combs and jewellery and silk. His lips curved up in a toothy grin. "You'll do."

She spat at him. He grabbed her waist. Lang reeked of someone who spent too long outside without bathing. "You should have paid for better help, my lady. So many of the peasants around here are too weak to do anything." He motioned to his men, who grabbed the horses' reins. "Which means you now belong to me."

They threw her over Khan's back. Mulan twisted to stare back at Shang, who still lay on the road without moving. She prayed that he would be alright. She strained against the ropes, but couldn't get them off. She resigned herself to the indignity for the moment; at least she was going to find out where his hideout was, like she'd wanted.

It was hard to see the road from her position, so she twisted herself around to get a better view. Lang led the party up the path she and Shang had been following until they turned down a curvy side path she wouldn't have noticed. The path went up one of the lower hills, and in through a cave. She had only just adjusted her eyes to the dark when they re-emerged on the other side.

Lang's headquarters were in a deep treeless valley surrounded on all sides by steep hills, making it invisible to anyone who didn't know the way in. There was what looked to be a farming village in the middle of the valley, but any farmers who might have lived there were all long gone. Many of the houses showed extensive damage, and almost half were missing full walls or a roof. Smoke went up from a number of fires around the village, and she could see men ripping pieces off the remaining house sections to use as kindling for cooking meat. Here and there the wood was covered with oddly shaped dark stains; she decided she didn't want to think about what had caused them.

Lang stopped in the middle of what would have once been the town square and pushed her off the horse. Mulan fell to the ground with a thump. A couple dozen men stood around and leered at her. All of them had weapons of some kind, but they didn't appear to be well armoured or disciplined.

Lang dragged her over to one of the larger intact houses, unbarred the door, and threw her in. It took a minute for Mulan's eyes to adjust to the darkness inside the building, but when she did, she saw that there were several other girls in there with her. A loud thud from outside told her that the door had been barred again behind her. Some of the bandits outside let out a laugh that echoed through the walls and started talking to each other in a dialect that Mulan didn't recognize.

One of the girls dressed in simple farmer's clothes came and sat next to Mulan. The girl worked at the knots around Mulan's wrists until they fell off and she could move freely again. Mulan pulled off the rope around her ankles herself, and moved to a more comfortable sitting position.

"I'm sorry that they caught you," the girl said quietly. "Lang's not very gentle with the things he steals, no matter if it's people or gold."

"Lang the bandit lord?" Mulan asked to make sure. "So this is his hideout?"

The girl nodded. "It is. But you should give up any hope of trying to escape. The walls here are too thick for any of us to break, and even if we could escape, those bandits are camped all around this place. And there's only one road out of here." She looked down at the floor. "So it's better to just give up hope."

Mulan stacked the ropes that had bound her up in a neat pile at the side of the room. "What's your name?" she asked.

"Yang," the girl replied. "I used to live in a village not far from here."

"What happened?" Mulan asked.

Yang paused before continuing. "Lang and his men attacked. I was so scared. They came with swords and torches, and they easily killed the village men who tried to fight back with farming tools. They broke into the village storehouse and stole our whole fall harvest. They took what bits of gold and jewellery we had managed to save. I was separated from the rest of my family. I ran through the battle trying to find my mother and little sister when a man grabbed me and decided that I was pretty enough for his tastes. I was tied up, thrown on his horse, and taken here. The last thing I saw, my village was on fire and people were screaming." Her voice quivered. "I don't think anyone else made it out."

Mulan was shocked by Yang's first person account. "I promise, I'm going to get you out of here to look for your family," she said.

"How?" came a haughty voice from across the room. Another girl, this one dressed in dirty but fine clothing which meant that she was probably from one of the lesser noble families that lived in the area, stepped forward to confront Mulan with crossed arms. "Are you a spirit in disguise come to save us with your magic? A great warrior sent by our ancestors? A mighty dragon in human form?" She leaned down to glare directly at Mulan's face. "There's nothing worse than giving people false hope."

"Yuhuan..." Yang started weakly.

Yuhuan cut her off. "And where are you from, anyway? I don't recall seeing any noble families left around here who could afford a dress like that, or be stupid enough to send out one of their daughters dressed in it when they know there's a dangerous bandit lord on the loose. Who are you?"

Mulan got to her feet, raised herself to her full height, and stared Yuhuan defiantly back in the eyes. "My name is Fa Mulan."

Both Yang and Yuhuan gaped at that. The other girls in the room fell silent. "The Hero of China who defeated Shan Yu and his Hun army?" Yang asked in a reverent tone.

Mulan nodded. "That'd be me."

Yang looked absolutely amazed. Yuhuan snorted in disgust. "So you're _the_ Fa Mulan. Big deal. You're still just as stuck in here as the rest of us."

Mulan leaned up against a wall, trying to come up with a plan of what to do about her situation. "Does Lang ever let you out of here?"

"Sometimes," Yang said. She stared down at the ground as she curled and uncurled her hands. "Sometimes at night, Lang gets ... lonely. And then he picks one of us to take to his tent."

"Which is made of cloth and surrounded by his armed men," Yuhuan added.

"And once he's done, we get thrown right back in here," Yang said.

Mulan mused over what to do. Clearly a direct attack was out since they were locked up and surrounded by men with swords. All the wooden houses in this village seemed to have been built on the rocky plateau surrounded by mountains on all sides, with only one way out, so sneaking out was out of the question. No, this situation would need cunning. She raised her arms to cross the in front of her, and her palm brushed the tassel and jade ring tucked into her sash. She pulled the fan out and unfolded it. A plan started to form in her mind.

"How often does Lang come for you?" she asked.

Yuhuan shrugged. "Every couple of days or so. Why?"

Mulan refolded the jade fan and let it rest in her palm. "Do you think he'd come for me?"

"**What**?" Yuhuan stared at Mulan like she was crazy. Even Yang got to her feet with a worried expression. "Are you insane?" Yuhuan demanded. "You _want_ him to take you?"

Mulan tightened her grip on the fan. "I need to get close enough to strike him, and if that's the only way..." She took a deep breath to keep her doubt and worry from showing on her face.

Yuhuan shook her head and started walking back to the larger group of girls. "Impersonating a man has fried your brains."

Yang stayed close to Mulan. She chewed on her bottom lip. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Mulan shook her head and tucked the jade fan back into her silk sash. "I don't know. But there's not much I can do."

The day faded into night, but Lang did not appear in the house. Mulan got to know the other girls better. Almost all were from the area, and had been mostly from farming or merchant families, with only a couple minor nobles. Food was shoved in through a hole in the wall that would have once been a window, which was bared shut once the food was inside. Mulan ate the lukewarm meat shoved in for dinner with no pleasure.

In the middle of the night, Mulan was awakened by a light knocking from the other side of the wall. She brushed it off as her imagination, but when it started again, she moved over to that side of the house. She knocked back.

"Mulan?" came a muffled voice from outside.

"Shang!" She pressed as close to the wall as she could get. "You're okay!"

"I managed to follow the way they took you, and then waited for nightfall. For a group of bandits, the defence on their camp isn't very good."

She felt around the wooden beams of the house to find a place to see him, but the boards were all too tight to let her see out. "Can you get us out of here?" she asked.

"Probably not," Shang said. "There's a man sleeping against the outside of the door. I can't deal with him without making enough noise to wake other people up too."

Mulan sighed. It seemed she was good and trapped for the moment. "Will you at least stay close?"

`I'm going to see if I can disguise myself as one of the bandits and stay here. Most of them are so covered in grime that it should be easy to hide my face." There were a few seconds of silence. "Be safe."

"You too," Mulan said, pressing her hand against the wooden walls. There were faint noises from outside heading away from the house she was in, and then nothing more. The sounds of people snoring came from around the insides of the house. No one else seemed to be awake, and it was a relief to know that none of the others would have overheard her conversation. Mulan waited up for a bit in case Shang decided to return, and then fell into a dreamless sleep.

She was awakened the next morning when more food was shoved through the barred up window. It was barely lighter in the house than it had been the night before. She could hear muffled noises from outside, but had little idea what any of them were.

The day passed slowly since there was little to do. Finally, night came and there were loud noises from outside the house. Suddenly, the door slammed open, and Lang and two of his men stormed in.

"On your feet!" the bandit on the left bellowed. All the girls stood up and waited. Yang looked like she was going to cry. Yuhuan kept her eyes downcast, but glared at the floor. Mulan stayed on edge, waiting to see what they would do.

Lang inspected the line of girls, and paused now and then to take someone's face in hand and look more carefully at her face. He stopped in front of Mulan.

"Ah, the new one," he said. "What's your name?"

"Li," Mulan answered, using the first name that came to mind. "My name is Li."

"Well, Li, since you're new to our camp, it's time that I showed you the way things work around here. I promise that you'll enjoy it."

"No!" Yang broke out of her demure stance, tears forming in her eyes. "Please don't! Not to her! She--"

Lang reached over and smacked Yang hard across the face. She fell to her knees. His many rings left angry red welts across her cheek.

"You will speak only when told to," Lang said. His voice was hard and cold. He refocused his attention on Mulan. "Now, will you come with me, my lady, or will we have the pleasure of dragging you around?"

Mulan took a deep breath to steel herself and hoped that Yang would be okay. "I'll come."

Lang stepped out of the building and Mulan followed him. The two guards barred the door behind them, and took their places behind Mulan. It was dark already, but she could still see most of the men in the light of the many campfires burning here and there. Lang led the group on a winding trail around the fires and half-destroyed houses to a large ornate tent on the edge of camp. Another campfire burned across the way from it, and three of the four men sitting there jeered. The fourth, who looked taller and fitter than the rest, only watched her with an unreadable expression.

Lang waved the guards off and pushed Mulan into his tent. The inside was even more ornate than the outside. Piles of furs and silks littered the floor. A chest full of jewels and coins stood near the head of the bed. A sharp, unsheathed sword leaned against one of the tent's walls.

He pushed her down by the shoulder and dropped to the floor himself. He uncorked a bottle and poured out two ceramic cups full. "Plum wine?" he said, offering her one of the cups.

"No thank you," Mulan said.

Lang pressed the cup into her hands. "I insist."

She took a sip of it. The plum wine was too strong for her. She coughed and put the cup down. She hoped the alcohol wouldn't make an impact on her fighting abilities; she needed to be sharp around him.

Lang downed the whole thing in one swig. He set the cup aside and stared at her. "So, Li, those are some fancy combs you have there." He pulled out the jade combs and Mulan's hair fell to her shoulders. Lang turned them over in his hands to admire the carvings then slide them into his pockets. "I'll take good care of these for you."

He noticed the jade ring at Mulan's waist and pulled out the fan. He looked closely at the jade coverings on the outside spokes and frowned. He quickly unfolded and refolded the fan and frowned more at the dark spots on the cloth picture. With a snort of disgust, he threw the fan back at Mulan. It stung where it hit her arm. Lang's mouth quirked up at her wince in pain.

"Worthless," he said dismissively. "You've ruined the jade on this. What did you do, leave it in the middle of a busy road for months?"

Mulan picked up the fan and tucked it back inside her sash without answering his question. She tried to act calm in his presence; she hoped her fear and uncertainty wouldn't show through.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked quietly.

Lang poured himself another cup and leaned back against the chest. "In general or tonight?" He took another drink. "In general, because when you're as poor as you can be, you learn to take whatever you can get any way that you can get it. And I've discovered that I'm very good at taking what society never bothered to give me." He let his eyes wander up and down Mulan's body. She wrapped her arms about herself. "For tonight in particular, sometimes a man needs more than riches. And I'm very good at taking that too."

He drank down the second cup of plum wine and slammed the cup down on the ground. "Why don't I show you."

Lang suddenly lunged for Mulan, knocking her back on the ground. She let out a cry of surprise and was momentarily stunned as Lang stared pulling at the collar of her silk dress. Her hands let go of her waist, and she fumbled around in the space between them for a few seconds before her fingers closed on the tassel and jade ring. She pulled the fan out of her sash and slammed it hard against the side of his throat. Lang wheezed as the hard iron bars inside the fan collided with skin and cut off his breathing for a moment, and Mulan kicked him off, landed on her feet, and moved into a fighting stance.

Lang coughed as he pushed himself up into a kneeling position. He glared at Mulan. "That was very stupid of you, Li." He grabbed the sword from the side of the tent, switched it to his dominant hand, and lunged at her. Mulan had barely enough time to move out of the way, and she rolled backwards out of the tent and into the night outside.

With a roar, Lang rushed out of the tent after her. The four men at the nearby campfire stood up and started reached for their weapons at the sight of him and Mulan. Lang waved them off and focused all his attention on her. "I can deal with a lone woman on my own."

He swung for her neck, but Mulan dodged left and smacked his forearm hard with the iron fan. It left a red mark, but Lang ignored it. He swung again, this time catching the hem of her dress and pinning it to the ground with enough force to bury the point of his sword a good inch in the soil. He grinned and moved in closer, punching her face with his free hand. Mulan saw bursts of light erupt across her vision.

With a wince, she reached down for the hem of her dress, and ripped off the bottom third of her fine silk skirt. Lang tried to pull his sword out of the rocky ground to attack her again, but he had pushed it too far with his attack and it would not budge. While he pulled at it with both hands, Mulan rushed in and slammed the fan against the bridge of Lang's nose. Lang howled in agony and his eyes squeezed shut. He flailed around wildly, but without being able to see, his swipes were wild and easy to dodge. Mulan aimed her hit for the sensitive nerves on the inside of his arm, and Lang lost his grip on the sword. The weapon flew out of his hands, and he flailed at her, knocking her back to the ground. She popped back up, and delivered a roundhouse kick to his gut, knocking him backwards. He hit the main support for the tent, and the canvas collapsed around him. Mulan kicked over the full chest of riches, spilling it onto him, and trapping the bandit for now. Since it would take him a few minutes to pull himself out of the whole mess she had created, Mulan turned and ran towards the house where the other girls were being held captive, while Lang was distracted.

Three of the bandits by the campfire decided to ignore Lang's order and go after her. The fourth - the taller one Mulan had noticed - grabbed a wooden staff and slammed it into the stomach of one of the other bandits, knocking him down. The two remaining bandits turned on the tall one, who dodged their clumsy attack and hit them hard upside the head. Both bandits collapsed into a pile on the ground. The tall bandit fell into place next to Mulan.

"Need some help?" he said in a familiar voice.

"Shang!" Mulan cried out. "Am I ever happy to see you again."

"They'll all be after us now with all the noise we're making," he said.

"I know." Mulan pointed to the building where Lang had imprisoned her. "We've got to save the other girls."

The other bandits started rousing from their sleep and running after Mulan and Shang. A man with a curved sword appeared in front of her. He swung at Mulan and she couldn't quite fall back in time. His sword cut through her thin silk sleeve and left a bloody gash on her arm. She spun around and brought her iron fan down hard on his wrist. He cried out and dropped his sword. Mulan swooped in and grabbed it, stowing the iron fan away and adjusting her new sword properly.

Behind her, Shang grunted. Two bandits had engaged him, and he was having a hard time blocking the attacks from their spears with only his wooden staff. Behind them, the rest of the bandits had left their campfires and formed into a pack, racing down the former main road of the village towards them. There was no time to spare. Mulan grabbed the sword tightly and slammed it into the one heavily charred beam still holding up the west half of one the larger deserted houses on the street. Her arms shook with the impact. The house let out a great shudder, and the whole building toppled over into the road. She moved out of the way just as a great pile of wooden boards and debris crashed to the ground, crushing some of the men and trapping most of the others behind it.

She pulled a sword from one of the fallen bandits out of the wreckage. "Shang!" she yelled before sliding the sword across the ground towards him. Shang dodged a spear jab, dropped to the ground, and grabbed the handle. He trust up at one of the attackers, and the bandit dropped to the ground with a thud. The other one stopped, looked warily at the new sword in Shang's hands, and turned tail and ran.

There were grunts behind the toppled house as the men started clearing a path through the wreckage. Mulan grabbed Shang's free hand and kept running. Finally, they reached the front door of the building where the girls were being held prisoner.

Only to find Lang waiting for them just outside it.

Blood poured from his broken nose. His eyes blazed at the sight of them. In his right hand, he held a different sword from the one he'd had before, pointed straight at them. In his left hand, he held a stick from one of the campfires, the flames only a hair's breath away from the wood of the house.

"If you come any closer," he said, his voice surprisingly even, "I will light this building on fire. With all of them still in it."

There was a frantic pounding on the wooden door and walls as the girls inside realized what was happening.

Mulan and Shang stopped dead in their tracks, Mulan felt trapped between the threat of the mob behind her, the cries for help in front of her, and the fire in Lang's hand.

"I must admit, Li, you're different from the other girls I've met," Lang continued. Shang raised an eyebrow at her alias. "But I will not have anyone oppose me, and not even hiding behind your skirts or one of my own men turned traitor will save you now." He jerked his head towards their hands. "Give up your weapons, and I promise you a quick death."

Half a dozen dust-covered bandits arrived behind them to block their escape. Shang slowly and carefully put his sword down on the ground. Lang jerked his head again, and Mulan pulled out her fan and laid it on the ground as well.

The group of bandits closed in around them. With a cruel smirk on his face, Lang casually tossed the flaming stick behind him. The whole side of the house lit on fire.

"You'll kill them!" Mulan yelled.

"I can always get more," Lang said. He readied the sword and sprang at them. Mulan dropped to the ground, grabbed the fan, and blocked his attack with it. She kicked his midsection to knock him off balance, and found herself outside the circle of attackers.

"Go!" Shang yelled, trying to distract the group of bandits. Mulan made a dash for the house. The fire had blazed up the wall, and spread to the next building over as well. She ran to the side where the door was, and shoved the heavy timber aside.

The door flew open, and the panicked group of girls ran past. Other buildings were catching fire now too, and they dodged past the falling ashes to make a break to the path out.

Mulan fell back into place next to Shang to make sure that the girls made it out past the bandits. Shang had picked up his sword again, and was fighting off those who got too close to the fleeing girls. Mulan stood back to back with him in order to catch anyone trying to sneak in from behind. The fan was a short range weapon, so it was more difficult for her to fight with it than Shang could with his sword, but the iron bars inside made every blow count. Many of the bandits looked warily at the quickly spreading fire, and it seemed as though most of them were far braver about posing with their weapons than actually trying to fight with them, as a significant number were starting to sneak out themselves in the confusion. Those who remained clearly had less training than she and Shang did, and Mulan was able to block most of their rough attacks and aim for their vulnerable spots. The jade covering on the fan was definitely going to show more wear after this fight.

Amidst the fighting, she saw Yuhuan starting for the path out, then stopping and running towards the valley wall instead. "Where are you going?" Mulan cried.

Yuhuan spun on her heel. "To save the horses! My family used to breed horses, and I still feel deeply for them. I don't care if the rest of the bandits here burn, but these horses have done nothing wrong."

She had a point. Shang gave her a nod and said, "Hurry". He deflected an attack by Lang to give Mulan a chance to escape.

Mulan quickly followed Yuhuan to the makeshift stables where the terrified horses were tethered. Mulan untied her Khan and Shang's dappled gelding, but some of the others were too frightened to safely untie.

"Shh, shh, it's okay," said a voice. Mulan turned to see that Yang had followed them. Yang gave her a weak smile. "I'm good with horses."

With Yang's help, Mulan and Yuhuan quickly untied all the horses, and the animals joined the mass exodus to the path. Mulan ran back over to join Shang. By now most of the buildings in the village were aflame, and more than two-thirds of the bandits had simply fled the carnage rather than try and fight.

Shang was having a hard time fighting off his few remaining attackers. He was bleeding from a cut above his eye, and favouring one arm. Mulan knocked out one of the bandits fighting Shang by smacking him across the back of the head with her iron fan, and then took her place next to Shang. He gave her a quick smile.

"Girls are okay," Mulan said. "Horses too. All that's left is to finish this up."

There was a rush of cinders as another house collapsed in the blaze. The remaining bandits started to look dubious about whether staying to guard Lang's treasure collection was a good idea. Lang stabbed at Mulan with his sword. She dodged back and forth as he forced her backwards. Lang broke out in a powerful lunge. In a quick move, Mulan grabbed her folded fan, thrust it against the other side of his wrist to lock it into place, grabbed his elbow, and - using the momentum from his own attack - flipped him over onto his back. There was a sickening crunch as his sword arm broke.

Lang flung her off and pushed himself to his feet. He turned his head to take in the whole of his valley hideout. Mulan could see that his kidnapped victims and most of his men had fled, much of his hideout - including the tent holding his precious treasure - was on fire, and both she and Shang were still willing to fight. He titled back his head and let out a long roar of rage and despair.

He dropped his head back down to fix Mulan with a glare of pure hate. "This isn't over yet, Li." In the burning storehouse behind them, Mulan could see Shang's dragon sword from the royal treasury sticking out from the embers of burnt treasures. Lang grinned crazily and lunged for it.

Mulan readied her fan to parry an attack. Lang grabbed for the sword. His hands wrapped around the tooled leather grip of the handle as the flames blazed up over the piles of broken wood from the storehouse. She watched as he cried out in pain and dropped the weapon. The fire seemed to have burned his hands, distracting him from the attack. A dangerous cracking noise came from the wooden beams supporting the house.

He tried to run, but it was too late. As she stood there, watching to see what he'd do, the beams split in two and the house came down on top of Lang in a shower of ashes and fire. His screams disappeared into the roaring of the flames. There was no way anyone could have survived that.

Still clutching her fan defensively, Mulan trudged wearily back to the centre of the ruined valley. With their leader gone, the few remaining bandits had dispersed, and Shang stood alone and panting in the square. His hair tie had come out, and his sooty black hair hung loose around his shoulders.

Mulan came close enough to brush the hair out of his eyes. "You look terrible," she said, giving him a tired smile.

He gave her a matching one back. "I could say the same for you."

She let her head rest on Shang's shoulder. "Lang's gone. A house came down on top of him. So much for bringing him back to the Emperor. And I guess we're never going to see your new sword or my new combs again."

Shang let out a deep breath. "That's alright. I'm just happy we succeeded in stopping him."

Mulan took her head off his shoulder. "We should see if we can find the girls and horses again."

The first fires were starting to die down and the village was quiet aside from the noise of the burning wood. The first rays of morning were starting to appear over the hills facing east. They made their exit out of the rocky valley, through the cave, and down to the main path. Mulan was surprised to find most of the girls still waiting for her there.

"Why didn't you run away?" she asked.

Yuhuan stared at the ground. "After you saved our lives like that, we felt that we owed you. I guess you really could keep your promise." She looked up. "I have relatives in a nearby town. They can probably get you a doctor." She looked over Mulan's ruined outfit. "And some decent clothing."

Yang led Khan over to Mulan and handed her the reins. "I think this is yours. I've calmed him down a little."

"Thank you," Mulan said, touched by the gesture.

They all saddled up two to a horse and returned to the town where Shang and Mulan had stayed before. As they stopped and dismounted in the main square, a crowd gathered, and people cried out in joy as they recognized the missing girls from the nearby villages. A tiny barefoot girl sprinted out of the crowd and slammed into Yang, knocking her down to the ground. Yang wrapped her arms around the girl as she started crying.

"You're alive!" she said, sitting up with her arms still around the girl. She turned her head to face Mulan and Shang. This is my little sister. I didn't think anyone else survived the attack."

"Couple of us did," said the girl, letting go of her sister. "C'mon, Mama will be so happy to see you."

Yang stood up and gave Shang and Mulan a respectful bow. "Thank you both so much for saving me. I owe you everything for being able to see my family again." She straightened up and wiped her eyes with her dirty sleeves. "I hope we will be able to meet again someday."

"Me too," said Mulan.

With a smile, Yang and her sister disappeared into the crowd. The others also headed off until only Mulan, Shang, and Yuhuan were left. "So you have relatives here in town?" Mulan asked.

"Third cousins," Yuhuan said. "They should still remember me." She kicked a rock out of her way. "I had to watch as Lang and his men killed everyone in my immediate family," she said quietly. "I know that there's no one coming for me."

She grabbed the reins of two of the horses that had belonged to the bandits. "At least I can bribe them with a gift. We're headed to that two-story place over there with the golden lions on the roof. Try to keep up." She started walking towards the building without waiting for them.

The crowd started to lose interest and wander off. Mulan and Shang found themselves more or less alone at last. They stood in comfortable silence for a moment as they watched Yuhuan walk off. "So," Mulan said.

"So," Shang replied.

"We should go with her and have that doctor fix us up."

"That would be good."

"And we'll need to get back to the Imperial City to tell the Emperor about what happened here and that the bandit problem has been dealt with."

"He'll be pleased to know."

"And we'll need to see what stuff we can recover so that we can pack for the trip home."

"Yes, we will."

They fell back into silence.

Mulan moved her hands onto her stomach. It was still too early to feel anything inside. "Do you think we should tell this child what kind of adventures it went on with its parents before even being born?"

Shang smiled and laid his good hand on her stomach. "We probably should." He paused. "Although maybe not right away. We should give it a chance to try and be the only normal one in this family first."

Mulan let out a small laugh. Ahead, Yuhuan turned around to glare at them and gave them a _hurry up_ gesture.

Mulan and Shang dropped their hands and started following her with their own horses. Overhead, the sun rose lazily up into the mid-morning sky, and a small trail of smoke from somewhere in the mountains slowly faded to nothing.


End file.
